Soap
by redhoodiehearts
Summary: 'Think I got myself in trouble, so I filled the bath with bubbles.' Or, Star realizes something she never would've thought of and is now terrified of herself. 3 parts/based on Soap by Melanie Martinez
1. Pre-Soap

Star wasn't sure what exactly was wrong, but something was off.

And as she paced back and forth in her room, she thought over everything, her wand discarded to the side and her hands tangled in her hair.

She'd been fine earlier, laughing with Marco and the guys over some lame joke, up until Jackie had come over and started talking with them. Then something went south, and she just couldn't put her finger on it. She groaned, pulling her headband off and tossing it across the room. What was wrong with her?

She started running through the day once more, trying to figure it out, when there was a knock on her door and a familiar face poked through.  
"You know, you're gonna put a hole in the floor if you don't stop pacing."  
Star instantly grinned. "Marco!" She walked the short distance to the door, pulling it open to let him in.

"Something bothering you, Star?" He asked as he walked in and sat at the end of her bed.  
"I don't really know…" Obviously something was, but how could she say she didn't know what? She went back to pacing again.  
"Wanna talk about it?" It was clear the boy was concerned, but Star shook her head.  
"There… Aren't really words to say."  
He raised an eyebrow at her, and she laughed lightly under her breath as she took a seat next to her best friend. He always had a tendency to do cute things like that. He grinned in response.  
"C'mon, Star, you can talk to me."  
"I know, Marco." She looked at her lap. "I just don't know what's wrong with me. I was fine until…"

Until… Marco had asked Jackie to pizza.

Star's head shot up at the realization, looking at Marco with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to say something when Star stood up.

"You have to leave."  
"What? Star-"  
"Now. Marco, you have to go!" She was almost in a full blown panic at this point, heart and thoughts racing to see which would drive her crazy first.  
"Star, what's wrong?" Marco asked, standing, and Star turned him around, pushing him towards the door.  
"Nothing! Just get out!"  
"Why?!" He turned to face her just before they reached the door, standing in place, before the Princess put her hands on his shoulders and started pushing again.  
"Because! I'm fine, just go, Marco!"  
"Not until you talk to me, Star!" Marco threw his hands out to stop her from pushing him away completely. "Why are you pushing me out?!"  
She was silent, just trying to push him out so she could sort through her mind.  
Because I realized something, she thought, and she could feel the words coming to her brain and all she wanted was to make them, and Marco, disappear.

Because I think I'm in love with you.

Finally, Marco let go of her door frame, and the last thing she saw before she slammed and locked the door was his wide, brown eyes.

The blonde ran across her room to her bed, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. There was no possible way she was in love with Marco, of all people. Sure, he was cute, and they had both grown a lot in the last 3 years she'd been with the Diaz family, but she couldn't be in love with Marco.

Could she?


	2. Soap

Star found herself standing at the top of the stairs, listening for the door to close and lock the same way it always did on Saturday afternoons. She hid in her room, standing with her head sticking out of the door so she could hear. As soon as the words 'goodbye Star' left her best friend's mouth and the lock slipped into place, she sighed.

Since her realization at the beginning of the week, she'd been avoiding Marco as best she could - headphones on in the car on the way to school, hiding out in her room, all but basically leave the planet. Today was her only real day to have to herself, with Marco at Karate and Mr. and Mrs. Diaz out shopping, and she had at a minimum of an hour to figure out what the hell was wrong with her as to think she was in love with her best friend. After standing in the silence for a minute or two, Star found herself digging through her drawers for clothes and grabbing her towel on the way out of the door. Once in the bathroom, she glanced around and took a deep breath.

 _Calm down, Star. You're alone now._

She started up the tub, the warm water steaming while she dug around for the space themed bath kit the Diaz's gave her for her 2 year anniversary on Earth - the bath bombs were the best, and luckily she'd only used 4 of them. Unconsciously, she pulled out the Shoot for the Stars one and walked over to the tub, dropping it in with a splash. She could still remember when she got them, so excited to have bombs that turned into baths. After a quick explanation from Angie, she knew they weren't and appreciated the relaxation they gave her. Now, however, she was more stressed than she thought was possible for an inter-dimensional princess in training to be the queen while conquering high school, friends, homework, princess duties, people after her wand, and attempting to control said wand. How was it some boy got to her more than all of that combined?

Oh yeah. Said boy wasn't _just_ a boy. This was Marco Diaz, Safe Kid. Dr. Marco PhD, future physiologist. Amazing nacho maker Marco. The kid that was always by her side throughout every obstacle. The kid that wasn't really a kid anymore, the one she risked her magic for, the one that saw the good in everyone. It had to be Marco Diaz, the one that knew her better than she knew herself. Marco, her best friend, her partner in crime...

Star groaned, cutting the lights. This was worse than _Mewberty_.

She waved her wand quickly, lighting the candle on the counter as she started to pull her dress off. "It's just a boy, how is this getting to me so much?!" She exclaimed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "This is just Marco! He's not Oskar, he's not Tom, he's just Marco! So why are you so worked up over this?" Star narrowed her eyes at herself. "There's no way you can be in lo-" _Okay, no point in lying Star._ "There's no way he'd see me the same way." _There you go._

She took a deep breath, pulling her headband off her head and examining it for a moment. She'd traded her horns for regular, girly headbands with flowers and stuff on them about a year ago, and she felt herself smiling again. This one she'd bought at some craft fair with Marco a couple of months back, remembering how taken she was with it when she saw the intricate design on it. Star tossed it onto the counter, looking at herself again.

 _Just say it, Star._ "I can't." _You can,_ she thought to herself, trying to force the words out of her. She felt sweat forming on her forehead, from the steam or her worries, she didn't know. "I'm in..." She took a deep breath, hardening her stare against herself. "I'm in love with my best friend."

Her voice was barely a whisper as she stalked over to the tub, sitting next to it and running her hand through the water as the colors swirled and honey filled the air. "I mean, who wouldn't be?" She was louder now, actually speaking. "He's the sweetest, kindest, even polite in every situation. Everyone else comes first, and always wants to help." She smiled slightly. "And he's definitely grown into that mole. He's always been cute, but now?" She stood and slipped into the bath, sighing again. "Who wouldn't be in love with that? He's the perfect guy." The now purple water surrounded her, and she let her eyes shut slowly.

"I'm in love with Marco. And there's no way in any place in any time he'd ever be in love with me. But..." She hesitated, picking up a handful of the water and letting it drip back down before curling in on herself and smiling stupidly, her arms wrapping around her legs. "I think that's okay. Because sometimes, the person you love doesn't have to love you back. They just need to know they're loved. And I'm in love with Marco Diaz."

"S-Star?"

 _Oh crap._ Star jerked her head to the door, water overflowing from the faucet she never shut off along with her legs flying straight. "...I'm in the bath!" She felt like she was gonna puke any second.  
"Who're you talking to?" Marco's voice floated through the wooden door, and Star finally got the water turned off.  
"No one. Myself. Just, uh, thinking out loud." She ran a hand through her hair, her heart pounding.  
"Everything okay?"  
"Yep! Absolutely, one hundred ten percent fine, no issues here, just having a little soak, uh-huh, definitely okay!" She was definitely _not_ okay.  
"...Okay. Uh, karate was canceled. I'll... be downstairs if you wanna watch a movie or something."  
She nodded before realizing he couldn't see her.  
"...Maybe. I'm, uh, not feeling too well." That'd been her excuse all week.  
She heard his footsteps leading away and she squeezed her eyes shut.

 _I never should have spoke, now he knows and probably never wants anything to do with me._

Okay, maybe she was being a bit rash, but right now she felt like she was going to be shot down where she sat. She looked at the side of the tub where purple water was puddling, and carefully climbed out, grabbing one many towels and throwing it on top. Pulling the drain she took a deep breath. She said too much already, the last thing she wanted was to face him. She quickly pulled on her clothes, tying her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of the way before flipping the light on.

She took a second to adjust to the new lighting, trying to steady her breathing at the same time. After a moment she picked up the sopping towel and grabbed another, wiping up the remaining water and the sides of the tub. Her eyes started to water as well, and soon enough she was sitting against the edge trying to calm herself. Marco was everything to the Princess, the most important thing to her. Losing him would be losing herself. He kept her as sane as possible, and now it may have all been ruined. What if he asked her to leave? Would she be able to find somewhere to stay to finish out the year or would it be too much and just go back to Mewni? She didn't want to leave any sooner than she absolutely had to, but now she'd probably messed it all up. She groaned, standing and collecting her things before making a dash to her room.

In normal Star nature, she dropped her clothes and the towels into a pile next to her door, tossing her wand towards her dresser before throwing herself onto her bed, picking up one of pillows and screaming into it. Except, she didn't have any red pillows...

She retracted the object from her face, inspecting it to find one of the Diaz boy's many hoodies. He had probably left it up on the balcony last time they hung out and it floated down while she was in the bathroom. Yeah, that was it. Instead of taking it to return it, she hesitantly unzipped it and slipped her arms in before zipping it back up and snuggling into the garment that smelled like the laundry detergent they always used and a lingering of cheese. She sighed sadly, slipping her hands into the pockets as she tried to keep herself from panicking. She actually did feel sick now, like she had eaten an entire bar of soap. And, honestly, that sounded like a better idea than facing Marco downstairs. Star curled in on herself again pulling her legs underneath the bottom of the hoodie. This was the worst possible thing that could happen, and Marco was probably down there figuring out how to let the poor girl down easy. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, calming herself again. Maybe she could just go to sleep and pretend nothing happened, and tomorrow go back to avoiding him at all costs. When she pulled her hands out to wipe at her face, a paper fell out with them, and she instantly reached for it as it tumbled off her bed.

Star leaned over the side, her tongue sticking out slightly as she dug for the paper on the floor next to her. She got it in her grasp and didn't bother sitting up before unballing it, her eyes darting across the words as her heart sank.

 _We should talk. Nachos are ready when you are.  
-MD_

Well, so much for avoiding him.


	3. Post-Soap

First, I wanna say thank you to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, saved, everything with this story. I really love it, and I thank you all for making me finish it. Please don't kill me.

* * *

Star headed down the stairs moments later, Marco's hoodie in hand. Her heart was racing, unsure of of how this would all pan out, and took one last deep breath before walking into the kitchen. She didn't say anything as she sat across from Marco, who had his hands folded on the table in front of him, and handed him his hoodie. He looked up at her.

"Hey..." He gave her a small smile, gesturing to the plate of nachos in between them. "As promised."  
Star gave a weak smile, reaching for one of the cheesy chips. "So, you wanted to talk?" She asked before biting in.  
"Yeah." The boy sighed, and Star felt herself tense. "I, uh... I overheard you. Earlier, anyways. Is... Is that why you've been avoiding me?"  
She looked down. "Yeah. I just realized it." Her voice was soft. Marco nodded.  
"Look, Star... You're great. Awesome even. You're still the coolest girl I know, and probably always will be. But..."

* * *

As he sighed, Star felt her heart fall into her stomach and shatter into a million and five pieces. _Please don't say what I think you're going to._

"You're my best friend, Star. I don't want to lose you. You've brought so much excitement to my life, but..." He looked down. "I... I don't like you as anything more."

Star swallowed the tears back, her stomach in knots and suddenly her chest was hurting. "I, uh... I understand." She whispered, her eyes glued to the plate between them. "I hope this doesn't mess anything up. You're my best friend, too, and losing you would be the worst possible thing."  
Marco gave her a small smile. "I'm not gonna go anywhere, Star. Still have a few Earth things to do before you go back to Mewni next year."  
She nodded, suddenly not hungry. "Yeah. Graduation's not that far off. Then I finish the training to take over and... yeah."  
"You'll make a great queen, Star." Marco smiled again, resting his hand on hers. She slowly pulled hers away. Of course he didn't like her back. He liked Jackie, always had, and probably always would. Why would he, anyways? She was leaving soon, it'd be a waste of time for both of them. Of course, she'd make it work, but now there was no point. He wanted to just be friends. He didn't want her like she wanted him.

She steeled herself before looking up at him, a teary eyed smile on her face. "How about that movie?" She asked, hoping that the darkness of the living room would let her hide away without it really changing things between them. She was hurt, more so than she thought she'd be, and the one thing she'd feared had happened. "I have to leave for Mewni in the morning, for some festival, but we could probably get away with a movie or two."  
Marco smiled back, trying to not see the tears in her eyes. "Yeah. You pick, I'll get the snacks."

That was the first night Star willingly picked a chick flick she could cry during, only so Marco couldn't ask her about it.


End file.
